Former two-time bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has notified the UFC of his retirement.
Dillashaw notified the fight promotion of his retirement after undergoing a recent shoulder surgery, according to his manager Tiki Ghosn. The news was first reported by Michael Wonsover after UFC Roster Watch tweeted that Dillashaw was no longer part of the active UFC roster.
Dillashaw made his way to the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter reality series. He advanced to the finals of season 14 but was defeated by John Dodson in the finals. After winning five of his next six bouts, Dillashaw captured the bantamweight crown by defeating Renan Barao at UFC 173 in May 2014.
He defended the title twice before losing a controversial split decision to Dominick Cruz in January 2016. Dillashaw put together a two-fight winning streak and earned another crack at the 135-pound championship at UFC 217 against former teammate Cody Garbrandt. He finished Garbrandt in the second round to win back the title.
Dillashaw and Garbrandt would rematch 10 months later at UFC 227. In the second fight, Dillashaw stopped Garbrandt in the first round. With the bantamweight title in hand, Dillashaw dropped down to the flyweight division to challenge Henry Cejudo for the championship. Cejudo stopped Dillashaw in just 32 seconds. In March 2019, Dillashaw announced that he would vacate the bantamweight championship after testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) prior to the Cejudo bout. He was giving a two-year suspension by USADA for the infraction.
Dillashaw returned to the octagon in July 2021, defeating Cory Sandhagen by split decision. The win earned Dillashaw another title shot against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 in October. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in the opening round and was finished by Sterling in the second frame. It was Dillashaw’s last fight.
Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw retires
